Winter Projects

People ask us if we are less busy in the winter than in the summer.  When I am in the middle of winter I think not.  When spring, summer and fall come I think maybe.

Typically in winter we try to catch up on indoor projects that wait for us not to be working outside.  Right now we are watching the thermometer for signs of spring and time for sap to run, and seeing near zero temperatures, it is not time yet.

So, we are finishing up the wood work in the office, which this past year was the focus of restoration and renovation.  Last summer we ripped out the ceiling and walls to install insulation.  We also refinished the floor and enclosed the existing fireplace, not willing to eliminate it entirely. Mary Ann carefully removed the woodwork around windows and doors, stripped off the orange paint, and added natural stain. Next up will be shelves and cupboards on one wall.  A place for everything and everything in its place….

Mary Ann also painted the woodwork at the bottom of the stairs and put a strip of carpeting on the steep stairs to upstairs bedrooms. The laundry room will eventually have shelves added for storage of towels and sheets.

In the Dye Kitchen in the Tesseract we moved a cupboard closer to the stove to hold dye pots, cleared out the stuff that accumulated under the counter and Mary Ann built shelves to accommodate the items we now know are frequently needed for dyeing wool…There is a place for natural dyes, madder root, onion skins, lichen, and dried marigolds, which are beginning to comprise a larger portion of dyed wool.

And, this weekend is building a cupboard to replace the desk behind the door that we now know Marty does not use, and which has a tendency to accumulate stuff .  This will be a place for food related items, tea, cups, bowls, plates etc., keeping it away from the dye stuff.

Our WWOOFers have done a grand job of washing, dyeing and carding bags and bags of wool to be used for wet felting projects and cupboards in the kneewall upstairs are sorted and labeled.  Washed fleeces have been organized and inventoried, samples are posted, and computer records updated.  And new signs made for farmers market ant the store and tons of Thyme Tile  needle felting kits are ready to go.

This week Marty sorted the yarn stash and is finishing a vest and a sweater that have been in process for way too long.  We now have bins of partial balls of yarn sorted by color, and a bin on hand spun waiting to be plyed into yarn.

And Marty is working on needle felted designs for display….

When the weather gets a bit warmer we will move back outside….getting ready for lambing in the barn.

Wooly Wet Felting

Mary Ann and I learned about wet felting years ago at Common Ground Fair.  This house in the woods was our first endeavor.


The techniques of wet felting have changed  little over the past 2,000 years.  Then as now you use wool, water, heat and agitation to tangle wool fibers together into an unwoven fabric.

Wet felting involves applying warm soapy water to layers of wool fibers placed in layers at 90 degree angles to one another. Repeated agitation and compression causes the fibers to hook together into a single piece of fabric. Only certain types of fiber can be felted successfully. Sheep's wool is a favorite.

Most types of sheep’s wool, can be used for the wet felting process. wool is covered in tiny scales.  Wetting and soaping the fleece causes the scales to open, while agitating them causes them to latch onto each other, creating felt. Plant fibers and synthetic fibers will not felt.

 After the wet felting process is complete, the felted material may be finished by fulling which includes scouring and thickening. In Roman times, fulling was conducted by slaves working the cloth while ankle deep in tubs of human urine.  Stale urine, known as wash, was a source of ammonium  salts and assisted in cleansing and whitening the cloth. Now soap is used.

Originally, fulling was carried out by pounding the woolen cloth with the fuller's feet, or hands, or a club. In Scottish tradition, this process was accompanied by waulking songs, which women sang to set the pace. Women sat at a table and beat the cloth against it in rhythm. 

Wet felting involves lots of agitation, rubbing, and rolling using bubble wrap or a felting stone.

 

This shows shaping wool into long ropes...more rubbing!

And voila!  Beautiful bags for everyone. 

Here are some pictures of wet felted items  done by Kathleen, our wet felting guru, by Marty, and by others who took classes here at the farm.

Wet felted bags by Kathleen

Wet felted Slippers, by Kathleen.  Class coming up February 23.  There is room for more....

Marty's bag ready for needle felted embellishment.

Its all about Community

Beginning our 7^th year with our Fiber CSA in 2014

We have realized our Fiber CSA is all about the people.  Sally, one of our funding members, says she and many of our CSA members believe what we are doing is important and want to help us be sustainable.  We appreciate each individual involved, each in their own way…with different desires and different skills and abilities.   We value flexibility and appreciate people’s desire to support the sustainability of A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm.

In the book, Small Farms are Real Farms, by John Ikerd a chapter is devoted to perceptions vs realities.  The author says, “Successful small farmers pursue a fundamentally different approach to farming than do big farmers.  They reduce their reliance on purchased inputs …They focus on creating value, as well as reducing costs. “  They build relationships with their customers.  As a result they can achieve sustainability. Sustainable farming is about stewardship.  It is about the pursuit of happiness, family, neighbors, and belonging…having a sense of purpose and meaning.  

In the beginning we thought our Fiber CSA  http://www.awrinkleinthymefarm.com/education/fibercsa.html was about the animals and the wool. (Everyone seems to enjoy petting the sheep and meeting Bubba, the gentle draft horse.) We appreciate a nucleus of strong supporters who love coming to the farm, nurturing our animals and knitting farm yarns.   Each has something important to offer: time, creative energy, color awareness, and more. People love seeing the sheep in the barn or the pasture, and the lambs in the spring.  Each and every lamb is named, cuddled, and nurtured to be a friendly part of the farm.

We began our CSA by offering 10 shares, and exceeded the goal in the first year.  Fiber availability is limited by the sheep we have and we always want  to be sure that everyone got a full share of fiber from our own animals.  Since then we have grown to over 40  members.  It is a little hard to count as some members purchase more than one CSA in a year, and others may take than a year to choose their entire share.

When you become a member of our CSA your  share is available to you as you choose. We encourage you to visit the farm to see and feel the choices available if you can. When you visit you may even choose the animal in the field that you want your fiber to come from. If you can not visit we will work with you by sending pictures of the sheep and samples of the fiber according to how you would like to use it to spin, crochet,  knit, or weave.  We also can include a bottle of maple syrup or a pound of Maple Sausage in your share.

There is a core group of knitters that comes to knit each week. CSA members who who are part of this group often immediately renew their shares each time they are used up.  These same people pitch in when they see that help is needed offering to help as mentors, teaching, promoting, advertising and sharing.  

 I think there are as many ways to be involved as there are people.  We are trying to work out ways to incorporate everyone’s skills in a time frame that works for all of us.

Not everyone can come to the farm.  Some order a CSA Share through our Etsy store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/FiberThyme

One Michigan spinner chose a sheep from a picture.  We sent him a sample of the fiber for color and feel.  After he received the roving CSA share he sent a gracious letter of appreciation. One member who likes to felt lives in New York City, and once or twice a year sends words of  appreciation and orders hand dyed felting wool or gifts for friends.

You will literally feel warm and fuzzy when you knit A Wrinkle in Thyme  farm yarn into a scarf, mittens, socks or sweater.  (Farm yarn is created with fiber from our own animals.) The dollars you have invested in our diversified farm will help us provide the best possible care we can give to our  sheep, lambs, and draft horse.